Hey, you. The one scrolling here. Today seems to be hitting a lot of people in the feels. Maybe it’s the stress of the coronavirus rearing it’s head, or maybe it’s the stress of the news in the world around you, or maybe it’s wanting to go back out and not being able to safely, or maybe it’s just fear masking itself as anger at other people for believing differently than you. Maybe it’s the stress and anger at the news, of people attacking and harming others, or someone said or did something to you and it’s reverberating. Maybe it’s seasonal with the weather changing and the hum of Spring outside and your body wants something different than being cooped up for weeks because that’s what the body does in Winter and it’s time to stop hibernating but it’s not safe to do so. Maybe it’s the full moon rolling across pulling on the tides and literally affecting the water all around us, including us, since we are made of water, bringing a lot of ups and downs into our day.

Today seems to be a rising tide of anxiety and fear and boiling points. 

That’s okay. It’s okay to feel it. If you can, name it. If you can, sit and visit with it, see what is really niggling at the back of the crowded thoughts, the feeling or concern that really wants attention today and is making waves. Feel it. Roll with it. Float along with the feeling for a little bit. I mean, what else do you have to do? Chat with your fears to see what’s really going on. 

I’m not saying there will be an actual answer. Sometimes there is. Sometimes that fear tells you what it’s really worried about or reminds you of a past experience that it’s trying to avoid. Sometimes that anxiety just wants to be held, and well, that’s hard right now. Sometimes that anger just wants to be heard, wants to know that your voice matters, and with all the yelling going on, that’s hard, too. 

It’s okay. You do not have to solve this today. People have been parsing their thoughts and feelings for decades, and we’re all dealing with them.

Just for today, acknowledge that you have these feels. Acknowledge that many others are, too. And try to find ways to deal with them in a healthy way, without lashing out at others or yourself for feeling this way. Write. Paint. Dig in the dirt. Take a walk and pick up a stick. Call your therapist. Find a therapist. Take a nap. Take a shower. Cry. Dance. Turn off the device in your hand, stand up, and do something else. 

Right now. You have permission to do this. Make this statement the last thing you read in this section of time logged in. You have permission to close this app, stand up, and go do something else. You have permission to feel your fear, anger, anxiety, hope, and go name it and go deal with it, away from this space. You have permission to just go be with your feelings for a little bit, and then do something else. Nowhere below this post will you find what you’re really craving, what your body or mind really needs. So give it to yourself. You have permission to leave right now and do something else. You have permission to feel. You have permission to be. So, for today, just be.